California's school system is under tremendous long-run fiscal pressure; allocating resources efficiently is therefore paramount. Economic analysis--making sure districts and schools are spending their budgets wisely--is the method used to identify effectiveness and efficiency. This method responds to the question educational professionals face:…

Career and technical education (CTE) is increasingly seen as a major potential contributor to the recovery of the U.S. economy. However, the effectiveness and impact of the current Carl D. Perkins Act (otherwise known as Perkins IV) that governs CTE are unclear. Is the federal investment in CTE paying off? To answer this, we need to establish the…

Selecting appropriate measures to make decisions about child response to intervention is a key concern. The most commonly used assessment tool in response to intervention (RTI) models is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). However, an issue related to the use of CBM is the identification of measures that are of similar difficulty. To the degree…

On September 30, 1993, Far West Laboratory (FWL) and the California Assessment Collaborative (CAC) sponsored a cost/benefit forum to examine cost-analysis issues associated with the development and implementation of instructionally sound assessment. This report highlights the central ideas addressed at the forum, incorporates the audience…

To determine if individuals other than first-line supervisors could be used as expert judges in making estimates of job performance worth when conducting a utility analysis, this study compared the estimates of experienced job incumbents with those of supervisors. The job class investigated was that of eligibility technician, who performs varied…

The application of a cost-effect analysis strategy to the delivery of vocational education services by California's Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps) was investigated. Data representing both program costs (revenues and expenditures) and outcomes (student completions and placements) were collected from a statewide sample…

The 5-year impacts of mandatory welfare-to-work programs on welfare recipients and their children were examined by using a rigorous research design called a social experiment to examine 11 welfare-to-work programs in 6 states (California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon). Four employment-focused and seven education-focused programs…